Router bit/speed question

I wonder.....

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

......if you could mount it in a drill press and use it like a drill.

To answer your question I don't know.

Re: Router bit/speed question

Mark Hennebury

Sharp as you can get it, keep it moving either down or up, smooth feed rate,don't hold it down at the bottom, Slow would burn less.

Re: Router bit/speed question *LINK*

Keith Newton

Maybe, but mainly, don't linger at the bottom of the plunge.

Then, if you do still get some burning, it can be pretty hard to sand down in these little spheres. What I recommend, is to look through your little dremel grinder bits, and find one you can live without, then turn it into a mini-disk sander. I used one about the size of a dime, sprayed with high strength contact, then add a pad of contact saturated polartec fabric. When it is dried, this makes a little resilient sticky pad that I can punch or cut little disk out of my 6" sticky back disk for random orbit sander. They work great in a little air right angle grinder.

I've got a large hollow punch set that I use to make the little disk somewhat like in the link below.

Once you have a little micro sander, you'll find more uses than you would ever think.


https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-02614A-Interchangable-Hollow-10-Piece/dp/B0002T87E0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1510840725&sr=8-5&keywords=hollow+punch+set

Re: Router bit/speed question

john lucas

Good responses. Don't use the drill press. You get too much chatter. BTDT. Chatter is as hard to sand out as burning. Slow down the speed if you can but mostly keep the tool moving. Then plan on taking a really light bite on your last pass or two. Burn goes deeper than you think so you much better taking it slow as far as the depth goes.

The little sanding pads are miracle savers, take it from a turner. We often have to sand into tight places. I use the center of my used 6" sanding discs or my 2 and 3" sanding discs. The center never gets used normally. The hole punch system works great. I made my own from thin wall pipe.

Re: Router bit/speed question

John McGaw

I don't know about others but some woods are just subject to burning no matter what precautions I take. Maybe there is some secret sauce but I haven't found it.

Re: Router bit/speed question *LINK*

John in NM

As others have said, sharp and slow will help, don't linger. Can be hard to avoid the burning anyway, even if everything is right. Drill press will chatter too much, I think it's the drive spline that does it, has to slide up and down and still transfer the rotation. They have to be made a little loose for ease of operation.

When Traditional Woodworker was still in business, they had a set of little sanding drums with ball ends that would be perfect for this. Kind of hard to find now in reasonable quantities, but they are called seamless abrasive caps -- everything I've seen lately is in packs of 50 (link below) which may be more than you want to spend.


https://www.gesswein.com/p-5906-abrasive-caps.aspx?gclid=CjsKDwjw6qnJBRDpoonDwLSeZhIkAIpTR8LZHrY0QV5e_v8ux24b4LXnvLFCevshmgSOccsW1twKGgK1CPD_BwE

OK, so I tried it.

Barry Irby

Drill press did not work. Shatter was worse that burning, just as John said.

I did two pieces with the router. Cherry 18 holes each. In each case one did not burn. Tried sanding them with the Dremmel. Worked well enough, but the little mop wears out. the course one works fairly well, but the finer one does almost nothing. They come in two packs, one course and one fine. The fine one is a waste of money for this operation. I spent so much time polishing them I am thinking of a different approach.

Use a smaller core box bit with a guide collar. Use a larger hole for a guide and "scribble" out the interior, leaving a smooth circle with a slightly scribbled bottom. Then use a small sanding pad. Made some drawer fronts like that the other day and it worked well.

Could do it with the big core box bit, but I don't have a guide collar that will let the 1 /1/4" bit pass through it.

Thanks for all the responses/ideas

Re: Router bit/speed question *LINK*

Jim Dillon

Barry, it might be my imagination, but I use a blade/bit lubricant and it seems to help minimize burning. Slow that bit down and take light cuts. As someone else suggested, on the final cuts, don't linger as that will promote burning. Good luck. Jim


Bostik BladeCote (formerly DriCote) lubricant

Unfortunately

Bruce, a MN Galoot

Cherry burns so very easily.

Re: Router bit/speed question

TomD

I would use something like this:

http://www.victornet.com/category/4-Flute-Single-End-HS-Ball-End-Mills/693.html

I used to make rattles that I plowed out with a ball end router bit, and the issue was mostly how dull they were, even though sharp from the factory. The Japanese make router bits in carbide that shave hair. But I only know from one that came with a router.

There has to be an optimal speed and feed, but what they are you would have to determine by cutting some test holes. Tests not forums are your friend.

Another option is to use some lubricant, like some water once you reach nearly the bottom of your hole. Take out your bit, and wet the hole then drill out the rest. It is predictable where the burns show up, so you might wet only that area. When you stop drilling ahead of wetting be sure to leave the smallest amount undrilled that will require a real shaving to get out. If you leave too little, that itself can cause the cut to burn. Get something to insert in your stop mechanism that will stop you the correct distance from your goal.

If you find burning is the lessor evil, then obtaining a curved scraper that closely mirrors your hole. Scraping out the burn, will improve your speed, and the finishes.

Re: Router bit/speed question

pecker

I would try making 98 % of the plunge first to remove the bulk of the material.

Then a 2nd plunge just a few thousandths deeper for the shortest length of time you can...like a fraction of a second. Also run at the slowest speed.

Success, two versions

Barry Irby

As is usually the case, I overthought this. I set up various spacers and clamps to position the router and hold it still. I plunged it firmly and got burning.

I tried removing the burning with a Dremmel and a polishing mop. Found the course ones worked but did not last long. They come it pairs, a course and a fine and the fine is less than useless.

So, I took a smaller core box bit and a guide bushing and cleaned out the holes with that. Worked well until I lost my concentration and let one chatter and tear the end out to the tray. So, I did the other one more carefully and got it done. Used the Dremmel to clean it up and was done with that one.

Made a second one to replace the damaged one. Marked where I wanted the holes and using the fence on the router, just plunged quickly in and out. Much better than slow and deliberate. Minor cleanup with the Dremmel and mop and I was done.

I am thinking about trying one with a random pattern of holes sort of like bubbles. My Engineering Brain is struggling with that Idea.

Re: Router bit/speed question

HC Sakman

Depends on the wood, sharpness of the bit and feed speed.

Chico